I have to admit that I’ve been a bit smug inside lately – I think everyone in southern Ontario has been. I really thought that we had successfully escaped the good old Canadian winter and had nothing but spring blooms to look forward to. However, if this week’s weather was anything to go by, I was very much mistaken.

So after driving through a winter storm to get to Sarnia, I enjoyed a duly deserved piece of humble pie served by Mother Nature herself and I started to wonder if my car had used more gas on the journey because it had to work harder than it normally would to drive through all that snow. You see I just bought my first car so, like any first time car owner, I watch the fuel gauge like a hawk and am constantly obsessing about any noise or rumble that I assume is not normal. 

Way back in August 2007, when we first started the PumpTalk blog, one of the first posts we had was about gasoline pricing being like a three-layered sandwich.   

In the GTA we’ve been hearing far too often about accidents involving motor vehicles, and pedestrians.  One colleague event commented that he is nervous to just walk around downtown anymore.  (Thanks for the idea Dave!)

So, I went searching to see what’s available in the way of helpful hints to offer to you.  These are tips that we should all be following no matter where we live.  Here’s what the Ministry of Transportation suggests:

Isn’t it funny how we all have our favorite brands—for everything? Some we are completely and 100% loyal to and some we will stray from maybe once or twice or even permanently, given a certain set of circumstances. What is it that makes us stay loyal to or leave a brand? And, if we do leave a brand, what does it take for us to come back to it?

For me, ultimately, my loyalty comes down to overall customer experiences and I recently had an interesting one while I was on vacation out of state and fueling up my car. I guess my disclaimer here would be that I am loyal to my brand of fuel in the Denver area. I purchase fuel only from the two brands which Suncor is licensed to market and sell. Unfortunately, when I travel out of state, I may not be able to find those two brands nor would it matter, since Suncor doesn’t supply those brands in other states. Still, I would go there if I could. Remember, too, in the U.S., we don’t have a Petro-Canada site on every street corner!

On with the story…I pulled in to what I considered a reputable brand of fuel, mostly because it was convenient and had a retail store, as well (the kids undoubtedly must go inside for something!). I did not even concern myself with price per gallon at this point. As I began the fueling process, I did notice that many of the other pumps were bagged and not in service. Still, I continued to go through the motions. Then, I began to hear the customer next to me trying to use the pump nozzle. She seemed very frustrated and left her car momentarily to go inside the store. She returned to her car, mumbling something and looking perturbed, just as I am pressing the pump nozzle. Nothing happens.